Machine Learning Engineering Manager - Music

Spotify · New York, NY

We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead the Research Engineering team in our Artist-First AI Music Lab. In this role, you will be a key driver of technical excellence, infrastructure, and deployment of state-of-the-art machine learning models.
 
You will manage a team of research engineers working at the intersection of deep learning research and large-scale software engineering. You will own the engineering roadmap, ensuring our research codebases support rapid experimentation, our training pipelines are efficient and reproducible, and our breakthroughs successfully transition from experimental prototypes into production features used by hundreds of millions of listeners.Our lab pioneers and advances state-of-the-art generative technologies for music to create new experiences for fans and artists. We build entirely new ways of listening that center and celebrate artists and creatives.
 
Our work is guided by four core principles:
  • Partnerships with record labels, distributors, and music publishers: we develop new products through upfront collaboration
  • Choice in participation: artists and rightsholders decide if and how they engage with generative AI tools
  • Fair compensation and new revenue: we create new revenue streams while ensuring proper credit and compensation
  • Artist-fan connection: our tools are designed to support creativity and deepen the relationship between artists and fans
For more information, see this press release: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2025-10-16/artist-first-ai-music-spotify-collaboration/

What You'll Do

  • Lead and support a team of research engineers and machine learning engineers, helping them grow and do their best work
  • Define and deliver the engineering roadmap, balancing fast experimentation with production readiness
  • Build and scale machine learning infrastructure, including training pipelines, experimentation systems, and shared tooling
  • Partner with research scientists, product managers, and platform teams to bring ideas from research into user-facing features
  • Improve engineering practices in a research environment, including testing, reproducibility, and deployment workflows
  • Support the transition of research prototypes into reliable, scalable production systems
  • Contribute to strategic planning and align engineering work with broader company priorities
  • Who You Are

  • You have experience leading or managing engineering teams, ideally in machine learning or research-focused environments
  • You are experienced with machine learning systems and frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or JAX
  • You understand distributed systems and have worked with large-scale training or compute environments
  • You communicate clearly and collaborate effectively across research and engineering disciplines
  • You have partnered with product and cross-functional teams to deliver meaningful outcomes
  • You have delivered complex technical projects and can balance experimentation with reliability
  • You care about building inclusive teams and supporting engineers at different stages of their careers
  • You have an interest in music technology, audio, or generative AI
  • Where You'll Be

  • We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! For this role, you can be within the North Americas region as long as we have a work location.
  • This team operates within the Eastern Standard time zone for collaboration.
  • This team collaborates across regions, with core working hours typically overlapping between CET 3pm–6pm and EST 9am–12pm.
  • Apply →